Furniture construction



p 1951 L. M. ELDRIDGE 2,568,329

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 11, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 171 227217 1" Lee M. Eldridge 2711 kzmz; Ezra;

Sept. 18, 1951 l M. ELDRIDGE FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11, 1950 r m uriLTrltFtlLrlL? v Lee M. Eldridge 237 7 %%M/W Em l;

Patented Sept. 18, 1951 FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Lee M. Eldridge, Dundalk, Md., assignor to Custom'Upholstering and Carpet Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Application July 11, 1950, Serial No. 173,197

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvement in furniture constructions and more particularly relates to an improved sagless construction for the springs of furniture.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a simple and improved sagless support for the springs of furniture.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel form of sagless support for the springs of furniture seats in the form of a suspended metal cradle supporting the bottom webbing and springs from the rails of the furniture frame.

Still another and more detailed object of my invention is to provide a novel form of sagless construction for furniture seats, including a flexible cradle supporting the bottom webbing and springs of the furniture and formed from a plurality of metal strap-s extending along the bottom of the webbing and suspended from the top edges of the furniture frame by means of flexible cables.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary top plan view of a chair frame showing the springs held from sagging by a cradle constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the chair frame shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of a sofa con- The flexible cradle for the sagless webbing l4 and spring I5--|5 flexibly cradling said webbing and springs, includes two flexible metal straps, or bands, l6-l6, herein shown as extending along the bottom of the webbing I4 in parallel spaced relation with respect to each other inwardly of the rails [2-42. The straps l6l6 may be made from a thin gauge metal such as steel, or from any other relatively flexible metal having sufficient rigidity to provide a relatively firm but flexible cradle supporting the bottom of the webbing. Braided wire cables l'l,l1, which may be flat, and which may preferably be made from steel, are secured at one of their ends to the top edge of a rail [2, as by nailing. These cables extend angularly downwardly and inward- .ly through the webbing and through apertured the rail for leverage, until the cable is taut, at

structed in accordance with my invention; and.

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line IVIV of Figure 3.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings I have shown, in general, in Figure 1, a frame for a piece of furniture such as a chair herein shown as including a plurality of legs lllli] connected together by rails l2l2 to form a rectangular frame.

A sagless webbing I4 is shown as being tacked to and stretched across the bottoms of the rails l2--I 2. Said webbing may be made from a single strip of heavy fabric such as burlap and may be pulled tight across the frame by a burlap stretcher and held taut to the bottom of the frame by tacking.

A plurality of coil springs l5l5 'are uniformly spaced on the webbing l4 and suitably secured thereto. The springs I5-l5 are herein shown as being tied together by heavy cord, as is well known to those skilled in the art, so not described in detail. The tops of the springs may be covered by burlap and padding covered by a suitable cloth covering, as is usual in furniture construction, so not herein shown.

which time a nail or staple may be driven through the cable and the top edge of the nail, securing the cable thereto in a taut condition.

Two other parallel spaced metal straps '2 l2l are shown as extending across the straps lE-I6 at right angles with respect thereto and as being spaced inwardly from the rails I2l2. The ends of said straps are provided with apertured portions as indicated by reference characters 2 2-22. Flexible cables 2323, like the cables I9--l'9, may be secured to the upper edges of one rail [2 and extend angularly downwardly therefrom through the webbing l4 and apertured portions of the straps 2l--2l along the bottoms thereof and through the opposite apertured portions of said straps, and angularly upwardly through the webbing M, to the opposite rails |2l'2, to which they may be nailed when stretched taut.

Thecrossing parallel spaced straps 5-! 6 and 2I2I and the respective flexible cables l'|-l| and 23--23, thus form a rectangular cradle suspended from the tops of the rails l2-l2 and supporting the bottom of the webbing and springs with sufficient resiliency to enable the webbing to conform to irregular loads, and yet affording sufficient rigidity and support, to prevent sagging under all possible load conditions.

While the construction just described may be used for a sofa as well as a chair, by providing a separate cradle for each section of the sofa, it

is preferable in a sofa to provide two parallel spaced longitudinally extending metal straps 24-24 extending for substantially the length of the sofa beneath the webbing l4 and stopping short of the ends of the sofa frame. Cables 25-25 may then be nailed to the top edges of one side rail of the sofa, and may extend downwardly in an inclined direction through apertured portions of the straps 24-24 and along the bottoms thereof, and then upwardly in an inclined direction to the opposite side rail of the sofa. These cables may then be stretched taut and nailed to said opposite side rail. A plurality of parallel, spaced, transverse straps l6a-l6a may then be provided for each section of the sofa, and are shown in Figure 3 as extending over the longitudinal straps and cables and as being suspended from opposite rails of the sofa by taut cables l'|a-I'la in the same manner as the straps l 6l6 are suspended by the cables I'l-Il.

It may be seen from the foregoing that a novel sagless construction for cushioned furniture has been provided, which consists in a flexible rectangular cradle engaging and supporting the bottom of the webbing of furniture from the tops of the side rails thereof, and thus supporting the webbing to conform to irregular load conditions but providing sufficient rigidity and support for the webbing to prevent sagging thereof and of the springs thereon.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a furniture construction, a frame having end and side rails, a fabric bottom webbing secured to the bottom of said rails and stretched thereacross, a plurality of coil springs located on and extending upwardly from said webbing and tied together in spaced relation with respect to each other, the improvement comprising a cradling means for said webbing and springs including a plurality of metal straps spaced from the rails of said frame and extending along the bottom of said webbing in one direction, a plurality of metal straps spaced from said frame and extending along the bottom of said webbing in another direction, and a plurality of flexible cables secured at their ends to the top sides of said end and side rails of said frame and extending angularly downwardly therefrom through and along the bottoms of said straps and upwardly from .4 the opposite ends thereof to the tops of said end and side rails of said frame, and secured thereto in a taut condition.

2. In a furniture construction, a frame, a fabric bottom webbing stretched across and secured to the bottom of said frame, a plurality of coil springs located on and secured to said webbing and extending upwardly therefrom and tied together in a definite spaced relation with respect to each other, the improvement comprising cradling means for said webbing and springs including a plurality of flat flexible metal straps extending along the bottom of said webbing in rectangular spaced relation with respect to each other and having apertured end portions, and a plurality of flexible cables secured at their ends to the top of said frame and extending angularly downwardly therefrom through the apertured portions of said straps and along the bottoms thereof.

3. In a furniture construction, a frame, a fabric bottom webbing stretched across and secured to the bottom of said frame, a plurality of coil springs located on and secured to and extending upwardly from said webbing and tied together in a predetermined spaced relation with respect to each other, the improvement comprising supporting means for said webbing and springs including a plurality of rectangular spaced crossing flexible metal straps spaced inwardly from the sides of said frame and extending in parallel relation with respect thereto, each of said straps having apertured end portions and fiat metal braided flexible cables secured. at their ends to the top of said frame and extending angularly downwardly therefrom through the apertured portions of said straps and along the bottoms thereof and suspending said straps from the top of said frame.

LEE M. ELDRIDGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

